A Cup of Hot Cocoa
by Traveling Trainer
Summary: There's really nothing else like it in the world - especially when I get to share it with you. Mystery-Dungeon-themed fluffy oneshot. Merry Christmas.


My partner and I trudged into the warm, dimly-lit room, leaving sopping-wet footprints from our snow-soaked bodies. I quickly closed the trapdoor leading to the area and sat her down, and I noticed that despite her Fire typing, she was shivering. I gave the Vulpix a little peck on the cheek, and she smiled slightly, trying to look strong despite the fact that she obviously was very cold. I sighed inwardly - I should have tried harder to talk her out of going to Sky Peak for today's rescue mission (yes, even exploration teams worked during the holidays), but nope, she wouldn't listen, and now we arrived, successful but freezing. I could barely feel my Aura tassels hanging from the back of my head.

"Don't worry, Rose, Spinda's sure to have something that'll warm us right up!" I said cheerfully, and she nodded in agreement. I ambled over to the counter, where Spinda sat, cleaning a drink glass, his body teetering and tottering with each step he took. I rapped on the counter a few times to get his attention, and he gave me a shocked look, nearly dropping his glass.

"Bill!" He cried out, half in alarm and half in happy surprise. "What are you doing out in this weather? You'll catch a cold before long!"

"Heh... Rose insisted we go out and do a rescue mission over at Sky Peak today..." I sniffed a little bit, and rubbed my nose to keep it from running. Spinda's eyes looked as if they were going to jump out of their sockets and slap me silly.

"Sky... Sky Peak! Sky Peak, in the middle of the worst snowstorm we've seen in years, on the eve of Christmas, one of the most important holidays here in Treasure Town? She's insane!" I chuckled and nodded, then felt someone push me onto the counter, knocking the wind from me. Looking behind me, I saw Rose, looking at me mock-accusingly.

"Oh, so now I'm your insane partner?" She called out, and I blushed heavily under her gaze. She walked next to me and bounded up onto a chair, sitting down and shivering. "Brr... it's cold out there."

Spinda gave her a disapproving look. "I'd say it's cold out there, young lady! Like I told Bill here, this is the worst snowstorm we've seen in years! I can't imagine anyone liking the weather right now!"

"Not even Ice types?"

"...well, you've got me there."

Rose barked out a laugh before coughing a little, and Spinda shook his head. "Well, you obviously came in here to get something warm to drink. Whaddya want? Any special ingredients you brought with ya on this..." He winced at the weather. "...fine day?"

I shook my head. "Nah... just a heated chocolate drink... two if you can spare it." Spinda shook his head back at me.

"Sorry, I've only got enough to make one... this stuff doesn't come by easily, you know. I waited weeks on the Kecleon brothers just to get enough to make five of these drinks... you're lucky that you know about them at all, being an official exploration team and all." I smiled.

"Alright, then, I guess Rose and I can share it. Is that alright with you?" I turned to her, and she nodded slowly, eyes twinkling mischievously. I gulped.

"What are you planning?" She burst into giggles, and I couldn't help but laugh along with her. I wrapped her into a hug, holding her tight, feeling the cold seeping off of her fur. We both shivered simultaneously as we watched Spinda work his magic.

"Hum-dee-dum... first off, the chocolate..." He poured out a few large, brown chunks of the sweet treat into a bowl and set it near the fireplace, then grabbed a thick mug and a tub of Moomoo milk. He poured a small - very small - amount into the mug before grabbing the now-melted chocolate and dumping it in as well. He grasped the mug in his paws and lifted it, and I reached out in alarm.

"Ahh, Spinda!" I yelled, and he stopped and looked at me. "Eheh, stirred, not shaken." Spinda reddened a bit at his mistake, and he grabbed a spoon and vigorously stirred the concoction. Small wisps of steam billowed from the mouth of the cup, tantalizing both Rose's tastebuds, and mine as well. She stared at the drink in excitement, and I rubbed her back, which still shivered. Spinda blew on the drink once or twice to cool it, looked at us, then thought better of it and handed it to us, sticking two straws into the mug.

"Here you go. Drink it up quick, I don't want other customers getting curious. Then they'll all want hot chocolate." He grumbled, grabbing a dishcloth as he began to clean his spoon and bowl.

"Thank you, Spinda." Rose and I said, as we hopped off of the barstool and made our way over to a stump of a table near the window. I carried the drink, and Rose's tails rapidly curled and uncurled in anticipation. As we sat down, she let out a groan, cricking her back, and then snuck one of the straws away and took a gulp of the hot chocolate. As the sweet taste made its way to her, she let out a soft sigh of contentment, and she began to swig the stuff down greedily.

"Hey now, leave some for me!" I said, swatting at her ear playfully, and she dodged away laughing. As we both felt the warmth enter our tummies, we breathed in and out, happy to enjoy ourselves after a long day of work, and Rose glanced out the window and gasped.

"Bill, look..." She whispered. Curious, I rubbed away the fog clinging to the glass and looked outside, gasping slightly myself. The snowstorm had finally dropped to a gentler level, and the entirety of Treasure Town (at least as far as we could see) was covered in the white stuff. Despite the temperature and time of day (or rather, time of night), we could see Pokemon playing outside: Marill and Azurill having a snowball fight, the Kecleon brothers shoveling snow off of their roof, Miss Kangaskhan watching her little baby attempt to catch snowflakes on his tiny tongue. Other Pokemon rested near Elder Torkoal, who was giving off a warm body temperature to keep the snow away.

Even the Guild was outside playing. Sunflora and Loudred were building a snow-Pokemon (each of them blushing heavily), while Croagunk slept up in a tree. Bidoof was trying, unsuccessfully, to help Sunflora and Loudred with their snow-Pokemon, earning him a fat snowball from Loudred for his trouble. Chatot, perched on Wigglytuff's head, spoke amiably with Team Charm, who seemed to be distracted by Team AWD, who eyed them distrustingly, and I chuckled under my breath.

"I guess we should ask Team Charm why AWD's looking at 'em funny the next time we see 'em." Rose nodded happily before removing her lips from the straw and hopping over to my chair, falling into my lap with a thud.

"Ooof!" I exhaled loudly as her weight piled onto my torso, and I wheezed a bit before regaining my senses. My eyes narrowed deviously, but as she nuzzled my neck, I sighed and laughed.

"I can't stay mad at you, even if you're insane sometimes." Her eyes sparkled, and she licked my cheek before wrapping me into an odd hug.

"It seems like it all happened so long ago, doesn't it?" Our moods turned slightly somber, and I stared up at the ceiling, trying to avoid Rose's gaze.

"Yeah..." We thought back to Dusknoir, to Grovyle and Celebi. "I wonder if they got brought back like I did..." For a while, Rose and I simply stayed like that, wondering, but soon she licked my face again.

"Well, there's no sense wondering. Maybe sometime soon we should see if we can meet with Dialga again and find out!" She stated confidently, and I stared at her before breaking out into a grin and tousling the tuft of fur on her head.

"Yeah, maybe we should do that." She nuzzled my cheek, and my grin smoothed out into a smile, both of us finally warm and toasty from the hot chocolate drink. I snapped my fingers (pawpads? Stubs? I still didn't know) and dug into our treasure bag, and Rose gasped as I pulled out a small, blue-wrapped box - a Sky Gift - and handed it to her promptly.

"Merry Christmas, Rose." I said. She gently opened the lid of the box, peering inside. I wanted to do the same, but it wasn't my place; it was her gift, after all, not mine. She let out a squeal of joy as she pulled out a big, fluffy strip of fabric, wrapping it over her Pecha Scarf before she wrapped it around my neck as well.

"Oh Bill! Thank you so much!" She liberally began to nuzzle my face, and I laughed at her antics, her infectious joy spreading to me. I hugged her tightly, blushing a little at her affectionate behavior, and looked at her dark red face, the twin hazel eyes staring deeply into my red ones.

"Love ya." I gave her a quick kiss before strengthening my hold on her so she couldn't get me back, and we both stared out at the winter wonderland that was only hidden by a pane of foggy glass. I knew that soon we'd have to break apart and walk back to the bluff, so we could rest up for another day of exploring, but for the moment, we simply held each other close, savoring each other's company. She poked my shoulder with her snout and I turned to look. She cocked her head and smiled cutely.

"Love you too."


End file.
